AN: *Insert Emma Roberts in AHS gif*. Anyway, hi it's been awhile, but uuuhhh I wrote 5,000 words for this yesterday and here we are. I think there will only be one more chapter after this, and with any luck, I'll upload it before 2027 lol.
The courthouse in the center of Republic City was not unfamiliar to Kuvira. She had been there for her original trial and sentencing and then again for her parole hearings. This time, she was more anxious than on either of those occasions. Before, she had been resigned to her fate, to living out the rest of her days in prison. Now, though, she had tasted freedom, love, acceptance, and she did not know if she could survive having it taken from her again. She sat in the spacious hallway, flanked by Republic City police, dressed conservatively with her hair braided back, waiting. Just waiting. It was a full day of testimony, and she felt like everyone she had ever spoken to in the last six months had gone before the Council, giving their account of her mental state. Korra had spoken that morning, and Lin and Kya shortly after. Now, Kuvira was waiting nervously while Suyin was inside the chambers, hoping that the other woman was able to hold it together.
Kuvira did not doubt her own ability to keep her composure. Perhaps her control over her emotions was not what it once was, but it was still good enough that she was certain she would not break down. She was not so sure, however, that Suyin had the same control, especially not after the emotional conversation they'd had the day before. She had yet to hear shouting, so she assumed things weren't going too poorly.
She did not know the officers who were stationed on either side of her, and she had counted at least ten other officers in the vicinity. They were likely the best metalbenders on the force, and Kuvira did not know if she should be insulted or flattered that such measures were taken for her. Even after ten years of good behavior, she was not trusted, could not be trusted. She supposed that was fair. The ruin she had laid to Republic City was still evident, still being rebuilt. She was well familiar with it, could trace the scars she left from memory, could still see them even through the new construction, construction she helped build. Her penance, her reparations. The poetic justice of her rebuilding what she destroyed was never lost on her. She almost leveled the city with her weapons, but rebuilt it with her own hands. Her time had been paid, and she had been more than willing to pay even more. No amount of hard labor could ever repair the lives she had destroyed, could wash the blood from her hands. So she sat quietly, hands on her knees, as she waited for her turn to speak to the council that had been reinstated to deal with matters like this, matters that were considered international. Her crimes spanned multiple states and nations, after all.
It was an eternity before Suyin reappeared. Kuvira looked up at her, brows raised in question, but Suyin could not tell her anything. She just nodded to Kuvira, and she looked mostly relaxed. A good sign.
She prepared herself for her turn, but no call came for her. She waited and waited, the clock on the wall telling her it had been twenty minutes since Suyin had finished. She had thought she would be next. They had already talked to everyone else. What more could they need before she gave her own testimony? She desperately wished Lin was there to give her some idea of what was going on.
Another five minutes went by before she heard footsteps in the corridor, and she craned her neck to see who it was. When she saw, though, she wished she hadn't.
"What are you doing here?" she asked Baatar Junior, body tense. He looked down at her smugly.
"I let the Council know I had some information for them. Information about you."
Ice washed over her heart, and she heard herself plead with him. "Don't do this, please. Baatar, please, think about what this will do to your parents." She knew he didn't care what happened to her, but maybe he would think twice before ruining her parents' lives, too. "It's not just about me. They would be…" What? What would they be? She could not speak for them, could not speak for Suyin. She had been sleeping with his mother for months, and she did not know what would happen if he did this, if he told their secrets.
"They should have thought about that before inviting you back into their home, before my mother started fucking you!" he hissed, rage twisting his features into an ugly caricature. "And they'll survive. Really, I'm doing this for them. With you out of the way, they'll come back to their senses and be reasonable again. You came between us before, but this time, I'm going to make sure you don't have the chance to do it again."
"Baatar, please, this isn't the way." She hated how she sounded, weak and dependent, soft and docile. She should have just lunged for him, beaten him down and asserted her dominance. Part of her wanted to tell him not to be fooled by the guards in the corridor, that she wouldn't hesitate to put him in his place. But she knew it wasn't true. She would sit there and take whatever punishment was handed to her. Ten years of soul healing had softened her edges, had reminded her that she could be vulnerable and still be safe.
Except she wasn't safe, not now. And her first instinct when faced with a threat like this was still to quash it through force. It took everything she had to keep her palms flat and nonthreatening on her lap when it would be so easy to shove him against a wall and threaten him until he was too scared to move. Even the thought made her sick, to know that was still in her, to know she had been capable of such violence against people she loved, to know she had very nearly taken not only his life, but the lives of almost his whole family. The life of the woman who now held her heart so tightly.
"This is the only way," he growled. "You and Mother made sure of that. Even after everything, you're still her favorite. You never saw that. You were blinded by your own self righteousness, and you had to destroy my family because your own didn't want you. Well, they were right. You're a curse, and you'll only hurt my family again if I don't stop you."
She moved to stand, but every guard in the hall took a step towards her. Helpless, choking on her fear, she sank back down and watched as her former fiance confidently strode into the council chambers. She was shaking, and if she did not have a panic attack, she would be shocked.
She closed her eyes, trying to breathe, to count, to go to her safe place, to do anything to keep herself from spiraling as she thought about what he was telling the Council.
"Shit, shit shit shit," she muttered, hands trembling as she rubbed her face. She looked around wildly, hoping that somehow, someone she knew would show up to help her, to save her since she wasn't allowed to save herself.
But no one came, and she was left to keep herself calm, as calm as she could, until Junior came back out, sneering at her as he walked by. She watched him go, mouth pressed into a thin line, barely keeping her thin grasp on her emotions.
"Kuvira, the Council will see you now," the porter said, and she stood on shaky legs to follow him in. The aisle down to the dias was longer than she remembered, and it felt like years before she finally stood before the men and women who would decide her fate. She looked up at them, trying to hold steady, to seem calm and in control. Her eyes found Tenzin, the only thing even remotely close to a familiar face, but his eyes were hard as he regarded her.
"Kuvira, we have just gotten a disturbing report of the nature of your relationship with Suyin Beifong," he said. "And if it is true, then that means that either you have lied to everyone who spoke to us today, or they have lied on your behalf. Either option is deeply concerning. We do understand that the messenger in this case may not be reliable, so we wanted to give you a chance to speak for yourself. So, Kuvira, what is the nature of your relationship with Suyin Beifong."
She should lie. She knew this. It would be easy, actually. Just say Junior had a vendetta. Just say he wanted to ruin her chance at keeping parole. Just say that he hated her and resented her and all the things that were actually true. Just say it was an accusation that was so far beneath her that she shouldn't even be forced to address it.
But as she opened her mouth, she could only think of Suyin, of how beautiful she was, of how gently she held Kuvira after a nightmare, of how sure of herself she was. She could think only of Suyin's flaws, her arrogance and hypocrisy and carelessness. She could think only of how she loved Suyin more than she thought she could ever love anyone. She thought of how safe she felt with Suyin, how good it was, how amazing their relationship could be as it grew.
And she thought of Baatar Senior, of his kind eyes and strong hands, of how he hugged her close despite her past, of how he trusted her and his wife, of how he loved so completely.
She thought of these things, and the lie died in her throat. She did not know if it was a mistake, but the thought of denying what she had with Suyin made her want to cry, and so when she spoke, she let the truth flow from her.
"My relationship with Suyin Beifong is romantic," she said, her voice shockingly steady, because it could not be wrong to be truthful. It could not be wrong to acknowledge the best thing that had ever happened to her.
There were gasps around the room, but Kuira kept her eyes on Tenzin. His mouth was open slightly in shock, and she braced herself for the looks of disgust that were sure to follow.
"I see," he said slowly, quickly schooling his features again. "And when did this…relationship begin?"
"When I moved to live with Lin Beifong and Kya," she said. She thought she saw his nostrils flare.
"And did they know the nature of your relationship with Suyin?"
Kuvira tensed for a moment, not sure if she should bring others into this. But it was too late to back out now. "They did."
"Who else knew?"
"Suyin's husband, her other children, and Avatar Korra."
She knew she was not imagining how Tenzin's face turned red, all the way up to his ears, even as his features stayed even.
"So then, no one mentioned this to us today because why?"
Kuvira swallowed. "I cannot speak for everyone, but Avatar Korra and I have talked extensively about what is best for my future. I did not go to Zaofu with this intention. It just happened. And when it happened, we took measures to protect my recovery. Avatar Korra thought it would be more beneficial for me to continue the relationship rather than end it."
The water tribe representative sputtered in indignation. "This is outrageous! We give you some level of freedom, and you immediately throw it in our faces. You've made it quite clear that you cannot be trusted outside of Republic City."
Kuvira knew she paled at the words, and the fear threatened to strangle her lungs. "Please," she said, trying her best not to lose it. "I've complied with every condition you've put down for me. I have been a model prisoner and a model parolee. I have done everything you have asked of me and have consistently gotten good reports from Avatar Korra and Chief Beifong. I have contributed to Zaofu, done my best to pay reparations there as I have here in Republic City. My relationship with Suyin does not change any of that, and it does not prevent me from continuing my recovery and my penance."
"This relationship is highly inappropriate," Tenzin said as the water tribe representative seethed. "Outside of my own moral judgment, this jeopardizes what we have tried to secure for you."
"Is your own wife not sixteen years your junior?" she asked, brow raised.
"I-What does that have to do with anything?"
"If you are going to pass moral judgment on my relationship, then should we not examine which of you is morally pure?" She lifted her chin, knowing she walked a thin line. "Suyin and I are consenting adults. Her husband also consents to the relationship. You may not understand, but you do not get to pass judgment on me. Not for that. For everything else, yes. For my actual crimes, for my recovery, for my reparations, you can judge. But for my personal life, you have no jurisdiction. You gave me freedom, to an extent, and I have followed the conditions set to keep it. We are here today so you can judge me on that, nothing else."
Tenzin's mouth was a thin line of anger. "We are here to judge if you are capable of integrating into society in a productive manner. This…development makes us seriously doubt that, and we do in fact get to judge that."
"Did any of the other people you talked to today give you any indication that I was not doing well?"
"Well, no, but after learning they lied to us about this relationship, how can we trust anything that has been said?"
"Because I'm asking you to. I have taken everything this council has thrown at me. I took my sentence and served it faithfully. I have never given you reason to doubt me. This development, as you call it, only strengthens my desire to be a productive member of society. The stakes for me are even higher now. That should give you some reassurance."
"And if this relationship ends, can we expect the destruction of Zaofu?" the Fire Nation representative asked. "The last time you had a falling out with Suyin Beifong, we all paid the price."
Kuvira did her best not to flinch. "I am a different person now than I was then. I would hope this Council knows that. Incidentally, I did consider that possibility. That is why my guardianship was transferred to Lin Beifong. If my relationship with Suyin were to end, I would…" The very thought turns her cold, and she has to take a shuddering breath. "I would not take that out on the citizens of Zaofu or on Suyin or her family. The circumstances are different."
Tenzin opened his mouth to speak, but the doors to the chambers burst open and Suyin strode determinedly towards them, her robes swirling around her. She was a force, eyes blazing.
"We're done here," she said, coming to stand by Kuira.
"Excuse me, Su, but you don't have the authority-"
"I don't care," Suyin growled. "My son has done his best to ruin this for Kuvira, and I won't have that."
"I don't think you're qualified to be objective given the circumstances," the water tribe representative said, and Suyin rounded on him.
"I was never objective. Not when she was originally tried, not when she was given parole, and not now. But it's never stopped you from seeking my opinion before. The only thing that has changed is that now your view of her is colored by your prejudice. Everything else I told you today was true. She has been exceptionally cooperative and forthcoming with me, with Lin, with Korra. She has been respectful and polite to all Zaofu citizens. She is putting down roots."
"With you."
"Yes, with me. Do you really think I would have any sort of relationship with her if she was the same person she was ten years ago? The person who tried to kill me and my family?"
Kuvira stared at her, wondering now just how far Su would go for her.
"Su, you need to let us continue our review-"
"Why, Tenzin? You've already made up your mind, haven't you? You don't think she should come back with me."
"I have concerns about the situation, yes," he admitted. "This is not an ideal complication, Su, and frankly, I expected better from you."
Suyin let out a barking laugh. "That's rich, coming from you. I'll ask Lin how she feels about your righteousness."
"This is entirely different!"
"Yes, you're right. Because I have been honest from the beginning with both Kuvira and my husband, which is more than I could say for you."
"Su, please," Kuvira said, low, a warning. She did not need Suyin's temper to escalate the situation.
Suyin looked at her, eyes softening. "It's going to be okay. I promise. No one is taking you from me. Not now." She reached for and squeezed Kuvira's hand briefly before returning her attention to Tenzin. "Zaofu will be handling Kuvira's release from now on. She is our citizen, and we only allowed extradition because of the severity of her crimes. Now, she is on parole, and you released her into our care. We are a sovereign state, and she is our citizen. We will be taking her home, and you do not want to find out what happens if you try to stop that."
"Su!" Tenzin looked understandably shocked, and the rest of the Council erupted in complaints, but Suyin stood tall and firm, and she was so beautiful that Kuvira could not believe she was real.
"Are you threatening war?"
"This is outrageous!"
"Just like a Beifong to think rules don't apply to her."
They shouted over each other, but Kuira had eyes only for Suyin, who did not seem concerned in the slightest.
"I think you will find that you can't afford to say no to me. I am not known for my bluffs."
"I don't think it is a good idea for you to be throwing around threats," Tenzin said, eyes narrowed. Kuvira knew they had grown up together, but he had been much closer with Lin. She did not know if their history would be enough to resolve the situation.
"It's not a threat, Tenzin. It is a reality of what will happen if you try to take her."
"Su please," Kuvira said again, putting a hand on her arm. "I'm not worth going to war."
Suyin looked at her, biting and true. "You are worth everything." And Kuvira believed her. Suyin took her hand and then looked back at Tenzin. "She is coming home. There is no reason to argue about this anymore. We all know that no one here wants to actually fight to keep her. You don't even want her in Republic City. But Zaofu wants her."
"You mean you want her."
"And?"
"And she is one of the most dangerous criminals of our time," Tenzin barked.
"She was, but she did the time this Council demanded of her. Is she not allowed to try and rebuild a life with people who love her? Is she only allowed to be free if she is isolated and miserable? Wasn't the point of her parole that she reintegrates into society? She is doing that in Zaofu, and she is doing so well. Tenzin, you don't want her here. The citizens of Republic City don't want her here. Let her come home with me. Let Zaofu take her."
Tenzin looked frustrated, and Kuvira thought it was because Suyin was making sense. He turned to speak softly to the water tribe representative, who nodded along. The other members of the Council grouped up around him, and they discussed for a few moments.
"Please, Su," Kuvira said quietly, looking at her lover. "Don't start some sort of war over me."
"They won't let it get to that," Suyin assured her. "But no one is taking you from us."
"How did you know to come?"
"I saw Junior," she said bitterly. "And I knew what he would have said. I couldn't leave you to deal with this alone. I didn't care about protocol. We are building something good, and I won't let him or anyone else ruin that." Her hand tightened around Kuvira's, and Kuvira could see that under her bravado, Suyin was scared.
They waited together, hand in hand, as the Council conferred, and to Kuvira, it felt like a lifetime before they broke and Tenzin sighed deeply.
"We will acquiesce to your…request. But one the condition that Kuvira is no longer welcome in the United Republic. She is hereby banished from this nation, and if she crosses our borders again, we will not be so lenient. And Suyin, you will personally be held responsible if things go wrong."
Kuvira wanted to sag with relief, but she stood tall next to Suyin, who nodded. "I understand. You won't have anything to worry about. Zaofu will take responsibility for her."
"We will need to draft the documentation, but when that is done, Kuvira will need to leave the United Republic immediately."
"Of course."
"And Su, don't think you can pull a stunt like this again," he said.
Suyin's mouth quirked into something akin to a smirk. "Oh, Tenzin, I'm a head of state now. I can pull whatever I want." And she turned on her heel, Kuvira in tow, and marched from the chamber.
The officers in the hallway moved towards them, arms raised, ready to fight, but Suyin shot them a glare. "Stand down. She's with me."
They hesitated before dropping their stances, and Suyin led Kuvira through the halls and down to the street where Lin and a Satomobile were waiting.
"What the fuck happened?"
"Su almost started a war over me," Kuvira said, hardly believing it herself.
"Of course she did." Lin shook her head and opened the door to the Satomobile. "So, are we on the run or what?"
"No, we're not on the run," Suyin said, rolling her eyes. "I'll explain in the car. Take us back to Air Temple Island. We need to pack."
The next few hours were full of Kuvira packing, of Suyin going back to the city with Lin to sign a bunch of paperwork that said Kuvira was now officially under the protection of the state of Zaofu. That evening, she had to come in again to sign herself, stating she would respect the sovereignty of the United Republic and would be banished from its borders for the rest of her life. She had no hesitation as she signed. In fact, she felt elated, like this chapter in her life was truly closing, like a weight was lifted from her shoulders. She would not have to hide her relationship with Suyin. She could even pursue something with Baatar, could see what they could be. He loved her, too, and she knew she could have something wonderful with him. Having them both, being so surrounded by their love and affection seemed too good to be true, but as she signed the last of the documents, she knew it was so close to being a reality.
They left that night. Kuvira did not think that Tenzin and Suyin even spoke. She did hear whispers of a shouting match between him and Lin, and the guilt settled in her stomach like a lead weight. Lin and Tenzin already had so much history, and he was Kya's brother. On top of that, Suyin's relationship with Junior was likely damaged beyond repair now. She had caused that yet again. No matter how much Suyin assured her it would be fine, she knew that was not the truth. She knew it because she saw Suyin with her head buried in Baatar's chest as he held tight to his wife when they thought no one was looking.
She tried to give them their space as the airship lifted off. Instead, she stood by Lin. "I'm sorry for causing any tension with Tenzin."
Lin snorted. "Tension with Tenzin is my favorite pastime."
"Lin, I'm serious."
"Hey, it was my decision to lie to him about you and Su, okay? You didn't ask me to do that. Su asked me to, and I agreed. It's none of his business, and I frankly don't care what he thinks. It's kind of like karma at this point."
"For what happened with Pema?" she asked hesitantly. It was a very sore subject for Lin, and she had never addressed it directly.
"Yeah. That shit sucked." Lin scowled, scuffing her foot on the floor. "But it led me to Kya. And that's the best thing in the world. Doesn't erase the pain, though. Me and Tenzin are mostly good these days, but I don't feel like sparing his feelings."
"Is it going to make things hard for Kya?" Kya had stayed behind to try and smooth things over. She would take a train back to Zaofu in a few days.
"Kya and her brother have been through a lot. It's going to take more than this to make problems. She'll handle him, don't worry."
Kuvira glanced behind her to where Suyin and Baatar were sitting, the former leaning her head on the latter's shoulder. Lin followed her eyes.
"That's going to be okay, too."
"I hope so. I just…" She shook her head. "From Junior's perspective, it must be…hard. I hurt him, badly, and now I'm in some weird relationship with his parents. I can understand how it must look to him, how it must feel."
"Yeah, can't argue with that. If my mom had pulled some shit like that, I'd be pissed, too." Lin shrugged. "Look, he's married with kids. If he's still obsessing over what you do, then that's his problem. You can't just not live your life because of how it might affect him."
"I suppose so." It didn't make her feel much better. When Suyin had come to her aid, to her rescue, it had felt so good. It had felt so right. But as she turned everything over in her head, she wondered if she was doing the right thing. If any of it was the right thing.
"Just go talk to her," Lin said. "She made her choice, and it was very clearly in your favor. She might be hurting right now, but I don't think she has any regrets."
Kuvira swallowed but nodded. She took her leave of Lin and quietly came to sit next to Suyin, who gave her a thin smile.
"Well, we did it," Suyin said. "You're never getting taken from us."
"The cost was pretty high," Kuvira said, looking between Suyin and Baatar. "It cost you Baatar Junior."
Suyin closed her eyes, letting out a small sigh as Baatar's arm around her tightened. "He made his choice. I…I understand why he's hurt, but he chose to make things difficult."
"He thinks I'm taking advantage of you."
"I know." She wiped her eyes, and Kuvira was a little surprised Suyin was letting her see her tears. "He's made his feelings very clear."
"He's your son." And she was just a stray.
Suyin looked at her, eyes soft. "He is. And you are my heart."
"Oh." She had to look down at her lap, her throat tight with emotion.
"Kuvira," Baatar said. "We love you so much. And you never asked us to choose between you and Junior. He is the one who made that ultimatum."
"We hope that with time, he will come around," Suyin said, but Kuvira could tell she was not too certain. "His wife is reasonable, and she…she's been keeping us updated on the children. She may be able to talk him down eventually."
"The last thing I ever wanted was to come between you and your children," Kuvira said miserably.
"I know. Kuvira, we knew this was a risk when I decided to pursue you." Suyin put her hand on Kuvira's knee. "Things are complicated with Junior. And I don't know…" Her voice caught and she took a shuddering breath. "I don't know if they will get better. But I love you. We both love you. And we want you with us. You belong in Zaofu, and Junior made the decision to stay in Republic City. He made the decision to leave us. You never forced him to do anything, and he…he has trouble taking responsibility of his own actions."
"We love our son," Baatar continued. "So much, and this hurts us more than we can say. But we won't let him dictate our lives. Please know that you did not do this. This is not on you."
Kuvira shook her head. "But it is. If not for me, none of this would have happened."
"No, Kuvira stop." Suyin squeezed her knee. "We have been over this time and time again. You were both adults. You both made the decision to leave Zaofu, to…to do the things you did. I used to blame you, I did. You know that. We've fought about it enough times. But I understand more now. Please, don't blame yourself for Junior. Please, baby."
The term of endearment had her chest warm and tight, and Kuvira let her head rest on Suyin's shoulder. "I'm sorry. So much happened today, and I'm just…It's a lot to process."
"I know. But we're going home, and you, my love, get to choose where you want to live now."
"What?"
"You can come back to us, if you want. This changed things. We don't answer to the United Republic anymore. I'm not your guardian. You don't have to stay with Lin and Kya anymore if you don't want to."
Kuvira had not considered this, had not realized it would be a consequence of the day's events. "Wait, really?"
Suyin smiled at her, kissing her softly. "Mhm, really."
"We can get you a new room, closer to ours," Baatar said. "Or your old ones, if you prefer. Or you can stay with Lin and Kya longer, if you need to think about things. We don't want to pressure you."
Kuvira didn't know what to say. It felt too easy, too sudden, but she knew what she wanted. She also knew it had to be done the right way.
"I want my old rooms, but I need to stay with Lin and Kya for now. Just a few more weeks. Just to make sure everything is good, you know?"
Suyin nodded. "All right. Whatever works best for you, sweetheart."
Kuvira leaned into her, reminding herself and her body that this was real, that she was safe again.
As they flew over the twinkling lights of the United Republic and then the independent Earth States, Kuvira let herself believe that she really might be all right.